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Louisiana inmate, last of Angola 3, ordered free after 43 years in solitary

TheDemSocialist

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A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the release of a man who sat in solitary confinement in prison for 43 years, prompting the man's lawyer to say justice has been achieved.The order signed Monday overturns the second conviction against Albert Woodfox for the 1972 killing of a prison guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiaryin Angola. The order also bars a third trial from taking place. Woodfox had always maintained his innocence and has said he was implicated in the guard's murder because he helped organize the prison's Black Panther Party chapter. Woodfox was in prison serving a sentenced for armed robbery when the guard died.
The order signed by U.S. District Judge James Brady, who serves in Baton Rouge, cited numerous reasons, including an agreement with Woodfox's earlier argument that he received ineffective counsel. The judge also noted that the state cheated at the trial to get a conviction and every significant government witness is dead, Woodfox's lawyer, George Kendall, said in a telephone interview.


Read more @: Louisiana inmate, last of Angola 3, ordered free after 43 years in solitary

Unfortunately sometimes justice takes an incredibly long time. 43 years in solitary confinement... 43 incredibly long years. I hope this is not appealed, and or Woodfox wins his appeal. "Having considered theparties’ arguments, the jurisprudence, and the factual and procedural history of this case, thisCourt exercises its discretion in finding that there are exceptional circumstances, and the only just remedy is an unconditional writ of habeas corpus barring retrial of Mr. Albert Woodfox andreleasing Mr. Woodfox from custody immediately. An order will be issued accordingly"
 
My biggest problem with this case is after all this time we still have no clear understanding of what really happened.
 
No. After reading the judges recent ruling, I do not.

The judge didnt rule that he didn't do anything, only that the trial was unfair and he should be released. He certainly didn't get a fair trial, and the judge is correct in his ruling IMO. However, Brent Miller is dead.
 
The judge didnt rule that he didn't do anything, only that the trial was unfair and he should be released.
I know. You asked my opinion and I gave it. And it is a ruling.

He certainly didn't get a fair trial, and the judge is correct in his ruling IMO. However, Brent Miller is dead.
Brent Miller is dead. And...... Why is Mr. Woodfox locked up?
"Like in Morales, Mr. Woodfox claims that the evidence of his actual innocence weighs in favor of an extraordinary remedy. At this time, there is no valid conviction against Mr. Woodfox for the murder of Brent Miller. The State’s presenting of an “extremely thin” case was one more exceptional circumstance in Morales that justified the extraordinary remedy (doc. 306, at 32). This Court has said before that it “fails to see the ‘overwhelming evidence’ to which [the State] refers” (doc. 33, at 61). There was an abundance of physical evidence available at the crime scene in 1972, but not one piece of physical evidence incriminated Mr. Woodfox... 1) a statement from State’s key witness Leonard Turner, admitting Mr. Woodfox was not involved in Miller’s murder; (2) statements from two women with whom Chester Jackson (who pleaded manslaughter for the same crime) spoke about Woodfox’s actual innocence upon his release; (3) a reliable scientific review of the bloody print at the scene, exculpating Woodfox; (4) evidence that severely undermines the credibility of State’s three prisoner witnesses; and (5) a polygraph examination indicating that Woodfox truthfully denied involvement in the crime"
 
I know. You asked my opinion and I gave it. And it is a ruling.


Brent Miller is dead. And...... Why is Mr. Woodfox locked up?
"Like in Morales, Mr. Woodfox claims that the evidence of his actual innocence weighs in favor of an extraordinary remedy. At this time, there is no valid conviction against Mr. Woodfox for the murder of Brent Miller. The State’s presenting of an “extremely thin” case was one more exceptional circumstance in Morales that justified the extraordinary remedy (doc. 306, at 32). This Court has said before that it “fails to see the ‘overwhelming evidence’ to which [the State] refers” (doc. 33, at 61). There was an abundance of physical evidence available at the crime scene in 1972, but not one piece of physical evidence incriminated Mr. Woodfox... 1) a statement from State’s key witness Leonard Turner, admitting Mr. Woodfox was not involved in Miller’s murder; (2) statements from two women with whom Chester Jackson (who pleaded manslaughter for the same crime) spoke about Woodfox’s actual innocence upon his release; (3) a reliable scientific review of the bloody print at the scene, exculpating Woodfox; (4) evidence that severely undermines the credibility of State’s three prisoner witnesses; and (5) a polygraph examination indicating that Woodfox truthfully denied involvement in the crime"

I didnt read the full 27 page report. Is that from the report?
 
43 years in solitary confinement. :shock:
 
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